Secret Obsessions
by Emberki
Summary: Frank doesn't even know that Gerard exists, but when he does, his life changes forever. But can he maintain relationships with Gerard, his friends and his family? Frank Iero/Gerard Way Frerard... Written by Emily and Amber, with input from Kiki
1. Chapter 1

**Gerard**

Why is this school so crowded? Seriously, why do we need this many people? I mean, the majority of them are gonna drop out half way through term anyway. First day of the new school year and I already felt uncomfortable. I looked around. Everyone was staring at me. And I knew why. My hair stuck out like a sore thumb, and was just as red as one. A couple of weeks ago I decided it would be a good idea to dye my hair a bright, post box red and to be honest I thought it suited me quite well, even though my deep brown roots were already beginning to show through. This was fine at the time seeing as I quite literally spent every day in my room at my desk, pouring over my art work and comic books, but now I could feel everyone's eyes on me. The room started to spin. My head went fuzzy and at that moment I felt a hand grab me and pull me into an empty classroom.

.

It was Mikey, my brother and best friend. Gosh, I love that kid and he looks after me so well.

"You ok bro?" he remarked, looking into my eyes and tilting my head upwards.

"I'm fine Mikey – yeah – ok – Stop touching my face dude!" I snapped back at him, he was going to ruin my attempts to not cry. I immediately felt horrible and hugged him. "You'd best get to class, don't wanna be late and all" I said quietly. He smiled at me, turned on his heels and walked out the door. I started to shudder as he left, I was panicking and I needed to calm down. I sighed deeply, rubbed my eyes and followed Mikey out the door into the onslaught of hurtful comments.

.

As I expected, I walked down the corridor to the shouts of all the fucking homophobic twats attending this shit-hole. I clutched my art folder tighter. My head shot up to flick my hair out of my eyes, and only then did I see the hands flying towards my shoulders. As they collided with my chest my body slammed into a locker. The guy laughed and walked off with his primate-like friends. I stood there for what seemed like an hour, the tears silently streaming down my cheeks. I fucking hated this School.

.

A guy walked past me. Gosh, I mean I'd noticed him before. We'd passed in the corridors and I knew he was cute but he' really changed over the holidays; he was pretty damn gorgeous! He smiled at me, a cheeky little grin, gosh… My imagination was running away with me. That's when I realised I was staring. I put my head down, using my hair as a screen to wipe away my tears, smiling to myself. Maybe he liked me? Why even think that Gerard. He's straight. I mean, he's with Lilly…. And she blatantly means the world to him.

* * *

**Frank**

I always dreaded the first day back; the people, the routine, the work. Everything. But most of all – the reality. I'd spent the entire summer preoccupying myself with studying and music, in the safety of my bedroom. Now there were people pushing past me left right and centre, and the noise was unbearable. The shock of the 7 o'clock wake up wasn't helping either. I dodged my way through the corridor to meet Lily, but before I knew it two slender arms wrapped around my waist from behind and two warm lips pressed into my cheek. I turned and saw my Lily with her flowing black hair and extravagant, dark eye makeup staring straight into my eyes, reaching up towards my lips expectantly.

.

I kissed her, but it was different to normal. I hadn't seen Lily for the entire holidays; she had been on holiday with her family in Spain with no internet or mobile phone access so no contact was available. Don't get me wrong, I loved Lily… Just not the same as I used to. She felt like a sister to me, a best friend, someone so close I could tell her my deepest secrets and not be judged, just not my girlfriend. When she broke away I put my arm around her waist and started walking to class.

.

Something had obviously happened in the corridor ahead of us, people were gathered around staring at something. Something red. As we walked past I saw him. This boy, there was something about him; an untold story that left me enticed to open the book. He intrigued me; his presence left an air of mystery. His hair was striking, a bright red that distinguished him from every other student in this dreary school. But he didn't need that. His face was so elegant, yet mysterious… Like something only seen in dreams.

.

As I walked past I noticed the tears falling down his cheeks and splashing onto his uniform and the terrified look on his face. I smiled at him to reassure him. He seemed to notice me, we kept eye contact for a quite a while, broken only when he shielded his face with bright red curtains and Lily turned and spoke to me.

"What a freak. He's drawing so much attention to himself with that… MOP!" I didn't like that. At all. I hadn't even muttered a word to this guy and I already felt so protective. I didn't understand. So I smiled at her, and walked to class.

* * *

**Gerard**

The only good thing I had seen today so far, apart from that boy earlier, was that I had double art on a Monday morning. I silently slipped through the doors of the only art classroom in the school. Seeing as it was such an unpopular subject, I knew our class would be small but I didn't expect there to be merely 14 students in there. I wasn't complaining though, I liked the face that I wouldn't have to communicate with as many arrogant teens as I was expecting. The smell of the fresh paper and acrylic paint swirled around me, making me fell slightly dizzy but at the same time so safe. Like home.

.

Only at that moment did I notice them. Sat a corner of the room, cuddled up to each other were Frank and Lily. I felt my heart flutter at the thought that knowledge that we shared at least one lesson but the sensation was short lived when I realised he probably didn't share my passion for art, and he was probably only here to be with Lily. Feeling the tears welling up in my eyes again, and with a fear of them spilling out, I promptly headed for the desk furthest away from them. I didn't want to stare at their sickeningly perfect relationship. As I unpacked my art folder our teacher introduced herself and gave us our task.

.

"Now class, as I haven't had the pleasure to have taught all of you I would like to see what you're capable of. So in order to test your artistic ability I would like each of you to create a portrait of anyone in this room. When you are done, please place it on the front desk and we'll review them all at the end of the lesson. Off you go!"

.

I knew exactly who I was going to draw. I worked in silence for the entire hour and a half, the noise of the classroom just a blur in my ears. I focussed on every little detail from the gleam of the lip-ring to the way the hair framed the delicate face, with strands falling across, caressing the apples of his cheeks.

.

After an hour and a half of gruelling work I looked from my portrait to him. Frank. I was so proud of it, my best work yet I supposed. As I studied the likeness I swear I saw him look up at me several times. Maybe he was drawing me? Maybe he liked me! Maybe we could be together. I mean, he had red paint on his paper, but I couldn't see what it was being used for from this distance. What was I thinking? He was drawing Lily, obviously. I don't understand what he sees in her, I mean I know she's one of the prettiest girls in the school… But that's the problem I guess. She's a girl. I sighed in resignation and began daydreaming again.

* * *

**Frank**

I glanced at Lily who was only a few seats away from me, and then back at my paper. I had two choices, and I knew exactly which one I wanted. Occasionally I she would lift her head up and study me, presumably trying to recreate the shape of my face. I pretended to do the same, but instead I looked past her, at the mysterious boy, his face just caught my attention. I was drawn to him. Mesmerised by his delicate features, I was lost in his beautiful eyes. And his hair, the way the light caught it, bringing out tones I had never noticed before. He was an artist's dream. I stole a look at Lily once more, guilt washing over me, but I didn't care. I took out my water colours and started to ink in his intriguing face.

.

I looked up at him, and as I did his deep, sorrowful eyes meet mine. They connected for a moment; feelings that couldn't be expressed with words were passed between us. I broke it off, not wanting to look like I was staring. Was his portrait of me? Surely not. I decided not to fill myself with this false hope. There were 16 other people in this class. Anyway, why was I becoming so excited at the prospect of a portrait of me, especially with him as the creator? I didn't understand, so I just pushed those thoughts to the back of my mind. I heard the teacher clear her throat and speak to the class.

"If you could all bring your pieces to the front of the class to evaluate them".

My heart started hammering in my chest. Lily would see. What would I say to her? Sorry, I saw this boy, I don't even know his name, but I thought I'd to a portrait of him rather than my girlfriend who I've known for years. Well done Frankie.

.

I put my portrait at the far end of the table, as far away as I could from Lily's view. I slowly went back to my seat, trying to pull her away. I didn't bother to look at hers. It would only add to the guilt. Why had I done this? Risking my relationship just to do a piece of art on a boy I had never even met before? What's wrong with me? The teacher was now analysing all our work. She paused at a piece dangerously close to mine. She picked it up, and to my great relief, it wasn't mine, but it was of me! I felt the whole class looking at me then back at the picture.

.

I had to admit, her art skills had improved significantly since the last time I saw some of her work. And she had used water colour. She hates watercolour. "This is an example of an excellent example of a watercolour portrait by Gerard Way". She looked over at a red-haired boy sat at the back of the classroom. No. He couldn't have. Why would he want to do a portrait of me? I checked it again. There was no mistaking it. It was definitely me. I blushed a little. He had accurately inked the contours of my face, and laced my hair over my head, but he had somehow made me look beautiful. This made me smile. I realised I didn't have to refer to him as the mysterious boy with bright red hair any more, so I allowed my mind to think his name. Gerard. I liked it.

.

She moved on the next portrait, the only one with an excessive amount of red on it. No. Please. No. She held it in front of her chest, allowing the whole class to see.

"This is another fantastic piece of art by Frank Iero." My cheeks blazed. I saw Gerard looking at the floor, blushing too. And then there was Lily, a confused look was etched upon her face that soon turned to anger and her eyes refused to meet mine. "Interesting that these two very talented artists should choose each other," she commented to herself as she moved on to observe the other pieces.

.

The bell finally rang and Lily raced out the door at the first ring, not giving me a chance to explain myself. I rushed out after her, and straight into the back of Gerard.

"I'm so sorry!" I exclaimed, not wanting him to think I was even more of a stalker.

"I-it's ok" he stammered, looking very nervous, but smiling at the same time.

"Um... you're a very good artist" I said, not wanting to let the conversation go just yet. He looked to the floor again, smiling and blushing.

"I... I mean... thank you... You're very good too. I liked the way you used the water colour on my hair." I felt happy because of his compliment.

"You can have it if you want." His face completely lit up, his eyes shining with gratitude.

"I... I don't know what to... thank you. I was surprised you chose me. I thought you would have done Lily." Lily. Why did he have to mention her? I should be chasing after her, not talking to person who had caused her upset.

"Yeah, well I've done portraits of her before." This was true. I didn't want to break the conversation we were having, but I knew I had to find Lily. "Anyway, it's the one on the end; take it home if you want to. I've got to go. I left before he could reply.

.

I found Lily at her locker, casually emptying the contents of her bag. I took a deep breath and prepared for the silent treatment.

"Hi, you made a hasty exit back there." I tried to put my arm around her shoulder, but she ducked away quickly, slamming her locker door.

"I don't know what you mean" she replied coldly. I could see this would require a considerable amount of grovelling.

"Is this about the portrait in art?" Her awkward glance at the floor, confirmed my fears.

"Look, babe, I've done plenty of portraits of you, I just wanted to try out my new red." I prayed this would get me out of it.

"Oh." Her response was short, but I could see her expression softening.

"Tell you what; I'll do another one of you tonight. In that sexy red dress. Then I can use my red again." I winked at her and I saw her smile at my offer.

"I suppose I can forgive you in that case." She grinned and put her arm around my waist. I pulled her close and tried to put all thoughts of Gerard to the back of my mind. I love Lily. I love her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Liz**

The words emo, weirdo, nerd, loser and freak echoed in my head, the scenario in the corridor today replaying in my head over and over. Consuming me entirely; devouring my soul. The phrase 'DIE, DIE, DIE' rang in my ears. Forcing me, ordering me to drag that blade across my skin. Again and again. The warm, thick, beautiful liquid oozed from my wrist. Inside my head was screaming, but my heart did not react. I was empty. Broken. I felt my grip loosening on the cold, hard steel that is my saviour. It clattered to the floor. I griped the sides of my bathroom sink tightly, my entire body shaking violently. I felt darkness consuming me. I embraced it. _Surely even hell is better than this?_

**-(Time lapse)-**

I wake up feeling dizzy, my head hurts and my wrist is throbbing, but my heart is still as numb as ever; only barely beating. I listen. My house is silent. I look at the time - 10:16am. Yes, that would be right. My younger brother will be out boozing with his mates on a park somewhere. My mum? Well, she'll be out shop lifting to fuel her ever growing heroin addiction. I got up off the bathroom floor to wash and dress my open wounds. I began to think, my mother is dependent on heroine and my brother was already a drunken dropout. What am I addicted to? The knife? Is this what I have to resort to? I was already late for school. What was the point? I'll just take a walk. _The words emo, weirdo, nerd, loser and freak once again echoed in my head..._


	3. Chapter 3

**Gerard**

I stumbled through the door to my house.

"HI MUM," I yelled as I threw my bag carelessly onto the sofa, "I'M GOING UPSTAIRS TO MY ROOM. PLEASE DON'T DISTURB ME"

"OK HUNNY," came my mothers shout from the kitchen. She sounded so tired; I assumed she had only been back from work a few minutes. I felt bed for not going to help her seeing as she was a single parent and all, but I had more important things on my mind. I ran upstairs as fast as I could, still gripping the now slightly creased piece of paper close to my heart. I barged into my brother's room.

"What the hell, dude!" He screeched at me. He was lying on his bed flicking through his limited collection of comic books. I had obviously made him jump.

"Mikey, I just came to tell you I NEED to speak to you later. But not just now ok? The best thing happened! I have to do something first though!" I stumbled over almost every word, and I wasn't quite sure Mikey understood anything that I said. I tried not to smirk at his tired and irritated face breaking into a sprint towards my room.

.

Surely this was a sign. We'd drawn each other. We were MEANT to be together. I was sure of it. The only thing that stood in the way of our happiness was Lily. I sighed as I collapsed onto my bed, still clinging to the picture. _My_ picture. I held it up above my head and studied the amount of intense detail there was in the picture, it was hard to believe he had produced this after only encountering me twice. There was one burning question in my mind: Where was I going to put the picture? My walls were plastered in story boards from many of my failed comic book attempts; there was no room to put up any more sheets of paper. I sighed in desperation as I cast my eyes around my room. There wasn't one inch of floor visible beneath my dirty clothes and incomplete art work, and my shelves were cluttered with art materials. I decided I would clean my room, starting with the walls.

.

I began by taking every sheet down from the walls and placing it in either the keep pile or the pile of failures. After I had completed this task I found that I had only one set of idea's in my keep pile: A set of story boards for a comic called 'The Umbrella Academy.' I didn't want to stick the sheets of paper back on the wall so I decided I should buy a folder. I picked my jacket up off the floor and left my room, prepared to make my way to the art shop.

.

I paused outside Mikey's room and knocked on the door. He shouted for me to come in.

"Oh hey there, Gee. Decided to knock this time?" he said sarcastically.

"Very funny Mikey. I came to tell you I'm going to the art shop, you need anything?"

"Actually yeah," he replied. I wasn't expecting this and I realised my journey had just gotten longer. "I want some of that black- oh never mind. I'll come with you and get it myself. That way you can tell me what you were so excited about earlier." I grinned. I was happy Mikey was coming with me, I mean, I didn't want to walk through New Jersey all by myself. It was dangerous. I waited while Mikey took his Jacket out of his overly organised wardrobe, picked his money up off his immaculate desk and fetched his bag of the door handle. He was such a clean-freak that he actually refused to set foot in my room any more until I cleaned it.

.

We went downstairs together to notify out mother of our whereabouts and began walking down the road.

"So… Who's the lucky guy then?" Mikey asked, grinning from ear to ear. His question ha caught me off guard; my mouth dropped open.

"H-how id you…" I stuttered. Mikey began to giggle.

"You're so predictable Gerard!" Mikey chuckled, "And that means I'm right! Explain!"

"Well… after you left me in that classroom this morning I had a… run in with some guys in my year," I began. The smiled instantly faded from my brother's face.

"What did they do to you, Gee."

"I… uh… It doesn't matter," I tried to dismiss the subject but Mikey was having none of it.

"What did they do?" He raised his voice a little, obviously getting more and more angry.

"They… umm… pushed me into a locker… again." Mikey began to shake with rage. "But it's ok. No harm done. Anyway, as I was stood there crying like a baby this guy walked past and smiled at me"

"WHAT GUY?" Mikey's smile had reappeared.

"Let me finish!" I said impatiently, "But then at the end of the day when I had art I found out he was in my lesson! We had to draw a portrait of someone in the class, so I drew him, and guess what! He drew me too!" I was practically squealing with excitement at this point, and Mikey looked like he as going to begin jumping around at any moment. "His girlfriend was pissed… Lily I mean."

"LILY?" Mikey interrupted me, "As in Lily with the black hair and the nose ring?" I nodded. "So you're crushing on Frank Iero?"

"Yeah… How do you know that?" I asked, shocked at Mikey's knowledge of the people in my year.

"She's my friend's sister, and a right bitch if you ask me. I've seen what she's like at home, but when she's with Frank it's a different story."

"Well he obviously isn't straight, so let's leave it at that," I said. Mikey had just overloaded my brain with information, and I couldn't process it at that moment.

.

Before I knew it we were at the doors of the art shop. Mikey was still chatting away to me about comics and art when he stopped abruptly. I was frozen to the stop.

"Hey, Gee… Isn't that -" I clamped my hand over his mouth and dragged him behind the pencil crayon stand and we crouched down.

"Mikey, shut up," I hissed, "Yes. It's Frank. Don't make a Scene ok? He'll think I'm stalking him or something. Shit. The art folders are over there… Right. I'm going to -"

"Gerard… What are you doing down there?" I recognised the voice immediately. Looked up to see a look of amusement on Franks perfect face, I put my head down and felt my cheeks go red. He held out his hand to help me get up. I took it and pulled myself up, almost in tears as the only situations we had met in so far were embarrassing. I liked the way his hand felt in mine, it was almost as if it belonged there. I wanted us to stay like that forever.

* * *

**Frank**

I decided to take the risk and put my hand in front of him and, to my surprise, he clasped it without a second thought. His hand was warm and beautifully soft, his grip delicate and gentle.

"Thanks," he said, holding the crayon shelf for support. I saw Mikey stood next to him, their resemblance was striking. "So you're Mikey's older brother then?" I had never made the connection previously.

"Yeah," Gerard was still staring at the floor, his face hidden behind his hair. I wished he would look up. I wanted to see his face, just once.

"I've never seen you here before" Mikey said, interrupting my fixation with Gerard.

"Um... well I usually go to a different shop, closer to home." This was only half a lie; I did go to the art shop down the road sometimes, but I had been coming here alot more frequently lately… nothing to do with Gerard of course. I was thinking the wrong thing again. I tried to distract myself by making conversation. "So what are you both here for?"

Mikey spoke first. "I need some black ink, and possibly some oil pastels. In fact, I'll go get them now... leave you two in-" I saw Gerard discreetly nudge him with his elbow, "Never mind," he said with a smile spreading across his face as he bounced off to look at the inks. I turned my attention back to Gerard.

.

"So come for anything nice?" he looked a little shocked as I spoke to him.

"Just a folder for my comics."

"You mean ones you've done yourself?"

"Um... yeah"

"Wow, I'd love to do that; I just wouldn't know what to write about. You should show me them sometime." He smiled at my flattery.

"I don't know… they're not that good." He looked down again. How was someone so beautiful and talented so unconfident?

"If they're anything like your art work, then I'm sure they're great." I gave him a reassuring smile and a quick squeeze on his shoulder. Maybe physical contact wasn't a good idea. However, he didn't move, or even flinch, as I touched him, so I assumed he was ok with this level of contact. I needed to snap out of my on-going mental debate over every reaction with Gerard.

"Thanks, I guess you could look at them sometime." He looked up at me, into my eyes, for the first time during this encounter. By this point Mikey had crept up behind Gerard, listening intently to our conversation.

"So, Frank can come to ours?" I saw Gerard jump as he heard Mikey speak, clearly not aware that he was behind him. I had to admit, I was a little shocked too. Mikey was inviting me over?

* * *

**Mikey**

Whist searching for the specific brand of ink that I liked, I kept stealing glances at my brother and Frank who seemed deep in conversation. I sighed. Why was Gerard hiding behind his hair? He was hopeless; apparently it was going to be my job to assure that these two became an item... or at least good friends. Frank was the type of person Gerard needed Frank was someone who was quiet and calm, but with a bit more confidence; someone who could possibly bring him out his shell, maybe help with the bullying, and just maybe help Gerard be happy with himself.

.

I knew it was unlikely that frank was even slightly bi, but Gerard had a gift for charming people, even if he was the most awkward human being alive. I contemplated several extravagant ways in which i could bring them closer together, all of them becoming more a more unrealistic until i finally gave up and walked back over to my brother.

"... Comics..." Once i had heard this one word from their conversation, a thought occurred to me. I slowly walked towards them. They were talking about Gee's comics.

"So, Frank can come to ours?" I asked. Gerard looked completely startled at my outburst. He looked at me, his eyes portraying his fear perfectly. I felt so guilty, but i pursued my goal.

"Well, how about it Frank?"

"Umm... sure, I guess… if that's ok with you, Gee?"

* * *

**Gerard**

Gee. I felt my lips part slightly. Gee. A nickname? I could barely contain my excitement. I felt the corners of my lip twist upwards into a smile as I lifted my head slightly and looked into Frank's eyes. Oh, they were so pretty. I lowered my head once more.

"S-Sure Frank," I stammered. What was I saying? I could barely keep up a conversation for five minutes, let alone there infinite time that could pass before Frank would leave. My breaths became shallower and more frequent.

"Ok then," Frank said, smiling at me, "I'll just go buy my pens and I'll be with you." Frank walked off towards the other end of the shop and I couldn't help but stare at him; his body was beautiful.

"Gee. Gee Calm down. Gerard. You're worrying me." Mikey was tugging on my arm, noticing how rapid my breathing had become.

"I c-can't Mikey. I… Mikey I can't keep up a conversation with him at home," I choked. Mikey looked at me sympathetically and gave me a quick hug.

"You know… I can stay with you if you want. You know that I can support a conversation one-handedly," He grinned at me, and I tried to smile back but my lips only quivered. Mikey walked back over to the ink and went to queue at the till when I noticed Frank walking back over to me. I didn't know what to do. I looked around me… panicking… I burst into tears.

"Heyheyhey!" Frank said when he reached me, "What's up, Gee?" I guessed he wasn't used to people breaking down on him, let alone guys. I sniffed and shook my head.

"Well… ok," he looked a bit worried. I allowed myself to think that he was being protective, even thought I knew he didn't feel that way about me… at all. Frank's hand snaked its way into mine, making me jump as his cool touch. He quickly corrected his movement.

"I- I'm sorry, Gee. I didn't mean to… upset you" he stuttered, going red and looking away from me, hiding his beautiful eyes behind his long, black hair.

"It's ok. I didn't mind," I managed to reply after about a minute's silence. I took a deep breath, placed my hand in his and smiled at him. He smiled back. My heart fluttered.


	4. Chapter 4

**Gerard**

It only took 5 minutes to get back to my house, but it felt like an hour. I hadn't said a word for the entire walk back to my house, but it didn't seem to pose an issue as Mikey was doing just fine keeping up the conversation on his own. I was so scared, and also extremely confused; why did Frank want to come to my house? He was probably just being polite as he most likely thought that I was overly sensitive about this kind of thing.

.

Mikey and Frank were still deep in a conversation about comic book heroes when we reached the entrance to my house. I stuffed my hands into my pockets and walked past my mum.

"Umm… Who's with Mikey, dear?" she asked me, slightly confused. I guessed that she didn't recognise Frank's voice.

"Actually, Mum… it's my friend. Frank. That's his name," I said, allowing a huge smile to spread across my face.

"Oh! Well that's wonderful Honey!" she exclaimed at the exact moment that Frank entered the room. "Hi there Frank, dear. I'm Gerard's mum. It's so lovely to meet you! You can come round whenever you like." My mum gabbled, pulling Frank into a hug. The look of shock on Franks face showed my mother's enthusiasm had overwhelmed him. I grabbed Franks hand and pulled him from my mothers vice like grip.

"Ok mum, we're going upstairs, ok?"

.

Once we had made our way into my room, I sat down gently on the edge of my bed, watching Frank exploring my room. Mikey collapsed heavily onto my bed; shaking it and making me jump. It continuously astounded me as to how someone so skinny could cause such a disruption. I noticed that Frank was looking at the only comic book plan that I had decided to keep.

"The Umbrella Academy?" he asked. My cheeks turned the same colour of my hair. I felt ever so embarrassed; he must have thought that I was completely mentally deficient to have created something as shit as I felt my comic's were. "I like it, it's… it's amazing, Gee!" his use of my new nickname sent shivers down my spine. "You should send it somewhere to have it published or something! I wish I could draw like that"

"Well, I've seen you're art work and it's pretty amazing," I said, gesturing towards my wall above my bed where my gift from him was proudly hanging.

"Oh… Wow…." Frank whispered. He walked over to his painting slowly and stroked it. His eyes began to glisten with tears and I wondered if I had done anything wrong. By this point I had realised Mikey had escaped the confines of my room. We were alone, and it scared me a lot.

.

Frank tentatively sat on the edge of my bed, reasonably close to me. He tucked his knees up under his chin and began to cry. I was taken aback; I couldn't understand what I'd done to upset Frank.

"Umm… Frank…" I mumbled, placing my hand on his back and rubbing it reassuringly. Before I knew it Frank had collapsed into my lap, clutching weakly at my jeans and sobbing in a most heartbroken fashion. "What's up Frankie?" I asked. It hurt to see Frank like this, even though I had only known this guy properly for a day I already felt a strong connection between us and I was becoming more and more attached to him by the minute.

"I'm just… I'm so confused Gee. Nothing's right. I- I shouldn't _feel_ like this. It's wrong."

"What's wrong, Frank?"

"Gerard," he said, sitting up and looking straight into my eyes, his face dangerously close to my own, "have you ever loved someone when you know you shouldn't?" He broke our eye contact, looking down at my bed and taking my hand in his own.

"Yes… I have. But only recently," I whispered, placing my finger under his chin and making eye contact once more. The adrenaline was pulsing through my veins and my hand was shaking against his delicate cheek.

"I- Gee… I…" Frank moved his head slightly closer so that I could feel his warm breath on my lips, looking up at me through his dark eyelashes. He stood up quickly. "Gerard. I can't. I'm scared. I'm confused. Just… Let's leave it right now. I have to go and see Lilly."

And with that he walked out of my room. I lay on my bed crying my heart out, screaming until my lungs burned. Mikey came in to comfort me, looking completely terrified, but it still didn't stop me wailing. I'd scared him off. I'd fucked everything up. Frank. I missed him already. My Frank Iero.

* * *

**Frank**

I ran down the stairs of Gerard's house, briefly yelling goodbye to Mrs Way, leaving in a rush. My head was busy with thoughts. Impossible thoughts. Stupid thoughts. It can't be, it just can't. No I'm just horny; I haven't seen Lily in so long. Yes that's it, Lily, I love Lily. I need to see her. **NOW!** I tried not to think of how good it felt to be that close to Gerard's lips, and instead replaced them with the lips of my girlfriend. Everything felt so much more right now, but that didn't mean I liked it.

.

I was home. I grabbed the painting I had done of her earlier and left. I had drawn her, just as I had promised. I drew her carefully, taking up all the time for when I got home to when I left for the art shop. It had helped to suppress my feelings towards Gerard. Damn, he was in my head again. I was nearly at Lily's. I didn't think she'd mind me coming over, besides I had brought the painting I had done of her.

.

I arrived at Lily's gate and suddenly thought of what happened in art. I realised that I had some sweet talking to do. I took a deep breath and rang the bell, clutching my drawing nervously. She opened the door, standing with her arms crossed and a bored expression on her face. "Hey gorgeous," I flirted. I watched her face soften.

"Hey frank," she said warmly, but I could tell by her body language I wasn't going to be let off the hook that easily. She motioned for me to come in. "My parents have gone to my aunts for a bit," she continued, "take a seat." We both sat down and Lily began flicking through a magazine. It was obvious she was still pissed off with me. "Lily," I started, "I'm really sorry about what happened in art today, and I wanted to give you this." I handed her the painting. She looked at it, to stunned to speak for a moment, so I spoke for her "I-I love you Lily… more than any other girl in the world. You're the perfect woman for me."

.

She placed the picture down on the coffee table carefully. "Oh frank, I love you too," she said eventually, wrapping her arms around my waist. I held her protectively. Her hair smelt nice, like Gerard's but in a more girly way… yet not quite as nice come to think of it. No. Forget Gerard. Only Lily matters now. I kissed her neck and up to face, eventually pressing my lips against hers, slipping my tongue in to her mouth as she let me lead. Her arms wrapped around my neck as I laid her down on the sofa. I place my hand on her hip and the kiss deepened as I lifted her top slightly. She moaned in appreciation into my mouth. I ran my hands up and down her sides, finally resting them on her hip bones. I wondered what Gerard's hipbones would feel like under my hands. She moaned again, but my head transformed her voice into a more masculine tone. She fumbled with the button of my jeans, undoing them slowly… teasing me.

.

I jumped up. I looked at her and shook my head from side to side, pressing the heel of my hand into my eyes until all I saw was a red mist. She looked hurt at my sudden rejection.

"I-I'm sorry, Lily. There's a lot going down right now, and I can't do this at the moment. I just can't." My voice was getting higher and higher, and I could feel my throat becoming tight. "I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry," I rambled. Lily stood up and walked up to me slowly, her hands out in front of her.

"Shh baby. It's ok. I understand. We just won't do it. It's ok." She was trying to reassure me, but it was failing miserably.

"I-I have to go. I'm sorry. I love you. I have to…" at that point I ran out of her house, not daring to look behind me as I ran… I was scared of seeing Lily's reaction.

.

Once I was safely out of view of Lily's house, I broke into a sprint. I ran and ran not realising where I was going, until I saw the news agents, which was right on the end of…. "SHIT," I cursed out loud - Gerard's road. I was heading to Gerards. What was wrong with me today? I quickly turned around, circling in a confused manner. This action earned me a few funny looks from the people around me, but I was too concerned with the twisted shit in my fucked up head, to care. I had hurt Gerard. I had hurt Lily. I had hurt myself.

.

I suddenly ran as fast as I could straight to my house, trying not to think. I ignored the burn in my chest and the tears forming in my eyes. I blinked them away, knowing that I was being pathetic, crying over all of this. I charged through my front door shouting to my mum that I had loads of homework to do, and that she shouldn't bother me. Pah! As if I would do it even if I did. I crashed onto my bed and shoved my headphones into my ears, turning the volume up and drowning the world out. It was late, around 10 o'clock now, and I was tired so I fell asleep almost instantly.

.

I woke up in the morning to Iron Maiden roaring in my ears. God, I had such a headache. I sat up, rubbing my eyes, and remembered. '_Oh crap_,' I thought, clambering out of bed. I started to get ready for school. School - where Lily and Gerard were. School - where there was nowhere to hide. I sat down heavily on my bed in despair. What was I going to do? I mean I love Lily, I have to. Gerard was just a friend… more of an acquaintance as a matter of fact. I had only known him properly for a few days now. Yeah that's how I could explain it; I hadn't had a good friend in a while, and I was craving someone to talk to. A friend who I could tell anything to… A friend with the best sense of humour… Gorgeous eyes… perfect…. I shook my head, telling my brain _to shut the fuck up_. But of course, it wouldn't.

.

All I could think about was the way that his soft, red hair shone beautifully in the sunlight, or the way his gorgeous hazel eyes lit up when I spoke to him, or how wonderful his body was… NO! Not his body his… his lips? NO! His shoes. Yes that's what I meant, his shoes. I quickly grabbed my worn out Green Day bag and said goodbye to my mum, not bothering to stop for breakfast as my stomach was feeling rather tight.

.

I got to school early… far too early. Hardly anyone one was there yet. I headed straight for the library to at least make an attempt at the essay set for tomorrow, not that I would complete it anyway. The bell rang, sounding shrill in my ears, startling me somewhat. What lesson did I have? Art. Lily. Gerard. Shit. Still, I decided to go as I did enjoy art, but when I walked in a saw Lily's puffy, red eyes and Gerards depressed expression I felt sick. Everything began to spin and I ran the hell out of there as fast as I could, ignoring Gerard and Lily's confused shouts of "Frank?"

* * *

**Gerard**

I sat in the art room, keeping myself to myself; not wanting to interact with any of the people in here. I could see Lily on the other side of the room in tears, but I also noticed that no one was talking to her or even attempting to comfort her. A part of me wanted to go over and see what was wrong, but the more dominant part of me thought '_I hope Frank has broken up with her. She doesn't deserve him_.' I was angry with myself for allowing these thoughts to enter my brain. It was vicious of me!

.

I was brought back from my internal debate by the squeak of the old, art room door. I saw Frank stood there, looking confused and upset; it looked as if he was going to burst into tears. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed that Lily had also looked up from the desk, staring at him with a confused look on her face and new tears filling her eyes. All of the blood seemed to drain from Franks face, and after swaying on the spot for a few seconds he ran out of the classroom.

"FRANK!" I yelled, standing up quickly, at the exact same time as Lily.

.

She began to advance upon me. I backed up against the wall, terrified that she was going to beat me up.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?" She yelled. She was practically leaning on me by this point, and although she was very small she was excessively intimidating. I looked down and waited for her to finish. "He's my fucking boyfriend you faggot, what do you think you're doing? 'Cause if you're trying to get into his pants, it won't work. He only has eyes for me you fucking idiot. Can't you see that?" She spat in my face before turning around to walk out of the classroom, presumably after her boyfriend.

.

I was in awe. Why did she assume that I was in love with Frank? I wasn't _in love_ with anybody; but I did have a slight crush on him… well… a large crush. I sighed, wiping her saliva off my face and sitting back down in my chair; if anyone else left this classroom, there would be no one left. Our teacher walked in a couple of minutes later and set our task – drawing shells. I focussed all of mind power on getting the shell perfect, thus pushing all thoughts of Frank Iero out of my head.


	5. Chapter 5

**Liz**

I was already crying when my body slammed in to the locker. The jocks jeered and laughed as I winced in pain, trying to move away but constantly getting pushed back. Then the names started… Geek, fucking emo freak, tramp, bitch, slag - need I go on?

"JUST FUCKING LEAVE ME ALONE," I screamed at them tears streaming down my face. That was when the beefiest punched me in the stomach, all of them kicking me as I fell to the floor in monumental pain.

I heard an awful crunch from my nose as the taste of blood filled my mouth. Past crying now, I just lay there weak and bloody, begging for them to stop. _"RING!"_ the bell screeched, saving me. The boys walked off, still laughing, as a group of girls crowed me, spiting on me. "Fucking bitch, nerd, hopeless cow, fuck ugly pig" they called, but they eventually left me laying there, a crumpled, bloody mess in the corridor.

.

I propped myself up on my elbows. _'Eurgh what class do I have now?_' I thought. Then suddenly it occurred to me

"SHIT" I said out loud to an empty corridor - English! It's not that I didn't like English, in fact I was actually quite good at it. Well, at least I used to be until I began skipping lessons. That's what landed me in a lower set. Plus the teacher got pissed with me like I was some hopeless trouble maker who deserves nothing better… And then there's Ryan and his gang – you know, the group who had just beat me up previously. Oh and there's Natalie's posse- the catty girls and the rest of the class who jeer and laugh to join in, that includes the teachers.

.

'_Fuck it,'_ I thought. I wasn't sticking around in that shit hole. So I ran. I ran and I ran. I had no idea where I was going. Thoughts buzzed in my head like a thousand angry bees. Thoughts about how sick, disgusting, ugly I was… just like they all said. And how NO WAY IN HELL DO I DESERVE TO FUCKING LIVE! '_That's it,'_ I thought, '_I'm gonna do it and nothing is going to stop me_'. I wondered how deep you had to cut to... and that's when I arrived at the tree. The tree that I always went to when I was bunking. I sat down and pulled out my razors from my school bag, choosing the sharpest out of the 15. I lifted it up the metal, glinting in the sunlight… just as I brought the cold, hard, metal to my wrist a figure approached me, making me jump out of my skin.

.

He was pretty good looking, even though I usually preferred girls if you get what I mean. I'm not a lesbian exactly, but definitely bi and I would most definitely go for a girl over a boy any day of the week. I found it funny how my first crush was actually on that bitch Natalie, not that I would ever tell her. I haven't told anyone that I'm bi and I intend for it to stay that way. All it would cause would be further bullying. I've seen how that gay guy is treated here, and I don't want that transferred to me. Anyway, the boy was short with gorgeous black hair, he had a sexy lip ring, a bloody good body and an adorable face that was starring straight at me, mouth wide open in shock.

* * *

**Frank**

I stood there completely stunned, starring at this girl. She was pretty adorable actually, but no where near as fucking beautiful as Gee… I MEAN LILY. Lily. Anyway, she was clearly very small for her age but I could tell she was in my year. I recognised her as the girl that everyone beat up, and I felt horrible. She had big, blue, almond shaped eyes, rosy cheeks and thick, curly hair that came down to her waist in a gorgeous natural auburn colour.

.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!" I yelled, suddenly snapping in to action and grabbing the blade from her quivering hand.

"Wh-what?" she answered confusedly. I bent do to her level

"what were you trying to do?" I asked her calmly, realising that I had scared her earlier, although I knew that the answer was obvious.

"Err... umm… just cutting... my shoelace?"

"Of course you were," I replied gently, sitting down beside her underneath the tree

"Wh-why are you being so nice to me?" she questioned worriedly and suddenly burst in to tears. I hesitantly put my arm round her while she cried in to my shoulder, letting her break down she told me everything.

.

"Th-they won't leave me a-alone" she sobbed

"What? Who?" I questioned, slightly puzzled at this statement.

"Ryan's gang… Natalie's posse… the teachers… but worst of all, the voices," she cried. "J-j-ust make it stop, please." Her voice changed to a whisper now, almost as if she was begging me for help. I felt compelled to place my arm around her shoulders, but I resisted as I was worried about her reaction.

"Who are these voices?" I asked worriedly.

"M-my… only friends." She finished her sentence boldly. "They know what's good for me. They understand what I deserve."

"What's that?" I enquired, gulping as I dreaded her answer.

"Pain… death… suffering," she said coldly "'cause I'm a disgusting, fuck ugly, fat pig. I deserve nothing better, no one would miss me."

"What about your family" I asked tentatively, worrying that I was prying too deep into her personal life.

"Ha!" she laughed sarcastically, "as if they would care. Mum only has kids because she's a fucking whore who forgets to use contraception because she's too high or pissed to function properly, and don't even get started on my brother. He's already an alcoholic at the age of 14. Dad left years ago when he realised what screw ups we all were."

"Friends?" She just looked at me like I was stupid.

"Have you ever seen me with anyone apart the bullies? I don't have any friends; I'm too sick, fat and weird. They all hate me."

"Woah, woah, woah… wait there. What the fuck? How are you fat" I was being serious, she looked like a bag of bones.

"Of course I'm fat. I'm repulsive, don't you see that? But nothing works. Every day I eat nothing but school meals that the fucking nurse bitch makes me eat in front of her every lunch. I hate her. She only makes me do it because she's scared I won't be as fat as her. But it's ok. I just excuse myself to the bathroom afterwards and throw up, the stupid bitch can't fucking stop me."

"Maybe she's just worried about your physical shape?" I suggested, but from the blank expression on her face I could tell that anything that I said would be immediately shot down.

.

We sat there awkwardly for a minute. Liz wiped her eyes with her sleeve.

"Sorry. I've been rambling," she mumbled, blushing and looking down in embarrassment.

"No, No it's fine," I reassured her.

"So what about you," she asked, making conversation.

"Just a bit of trouble with my girl friend, Lily"

"LILY?" she said looking shocked and confused, "so you're Frank Iero, then" She mumbled looking down and leaning slightly away from him.

"What's up?" I asked confused to why she looked so upset.

"Oh nothing, anyway you go first" She shrugged trying to sound nonchalant, but failing.

"Ok" I said hoping I sounded confident. So that's when I told her, letting it all out... crying to this random girl I'd met about half an hour ago. I told her I loved Lily, but I wasn't sure how much it was... or if it was only as a best friend or a sister. "I think that there's someone else," I sobbed glumly.

"You think?" She questioned, putting her head to one side.

"Ok, ok I _know_ there's someone else," I said giving in.

"Ok, who doesn't know what they are missing out on?" She ginned, putting her head to the side; It was quite cute.

"Look, he is not missing out on anything, trust me," I said automatically, feeling down hearted and day dreaming about _him_... again.

"He?" she exclaimed.

"OH...MY...GOD" I breathed. What fuck had I just done? She was so going to hate me now. I'm a fucking freak. "I'm so sorry! Please don't hate me, I know what I am and I know it's sick. I'm so sorry. Maybe I should go," I gabbled, starting to get up.

"OH NO FRANK, WAIT!" She cried, standing up and grabbing my arm. "I'm sorry, I have nothing against you. I don't think being gay is sick... or bi for that matter." She put her arms around me. "I should be the sorry one. I reacted badly, but that's not because I don't like gays. I was just shocked... I mean, you're so popular," she informed me, looking really hurt. I hugged her close.

"Actually, to tell you the truth, well... I'm bi too." She said in a rush.

"Oh" I said. I raised my hand and rubbed my forehead before smiling at her. "Well that makes two of us, then".


	6. Chapter 6

**Gerard**

I packed my sketching pencils away and looked down at my work – not my best, but that was understandable. The bell rang and I practically ran out of the room, ignoring the glares that Lily was sending in my direction. My next lesson was Science and I walked there with my head down, clutching my art folder. I felt like I was going to explode; I was panicking far too much to be good. That's when I walked into someone. I bounced off them like they were a brick wall and the tears started falling.

"I'm sorry. I'm s-so sorry. I didn't mean to wa- ugh, walk into you. P-please don't hurt me."

"Gee, it's me. Calm down. I'm not going to hurt you, and neither will anyone else here." It was Frank, and that should have calmed me down instantly, but it didn't. Not one bit. I backed up against the locker, looking at him through terror stricken eyes.

"I-I can't be here. L-Lily - she'll _kill_ me! I can't. I'm sorry. I just- I can't be here." That's when he grabbed my hands, which I was waving around violently as they shook, and pressed them against the locker. I was completely vulnerable.

"Gerard. Gerard calm down. Dude, you're going to hit me if you don't stop it." His body was pressed up right against mine and all the tension that was built up inside me melted away. I collapsed into him, balling my hands into fists in his T-shirt and sobbing into his Chest. He rubbed my back soothingly.

"Shhh, Gee. It's okay. Would you like to tell me what happened?"

"N-not here. I can't risk Lily starting on me again." I replied, looking into his eyes – they were amazing.

"Well, do you want to come to my house after school or something? My mum'll make tea for us, if you want." I smiled.

"That would be lovely." I replied, letting a small smile appear on my face.

"Ok, Gee. Well I'll meet you outside the front entrance after last period, ok?"

"Sure. Thanks Frankie," I whispered, giving him one last hug before letting him go to lesson.

.

I jittered all the way though my science lesson, buzzing with excitement yet shaking from nerves. Last time that Frank and I were left alone together, it had ended badly and I didn't want to do anything to upset him or make him uncomfortable. Eventually the bell rang and I practically sprinted outside to meet him and tried not to let my mouth fall open when I saw him. He looked so cliché, standing up against the wall with one foot resting against it and his arms folded across his chest – in short he looked fucking hot! I tried to walk in a cool fashion, sashaying my hips and flicking my hair out of my face. When I reached him he giggled and brought a hand up my face to tuck a stray strand of my red hair behind my ear.

"Hey," he said.

* * *

**Frank**

"Hh..i" he stuttered. I felt so nervous as I thought of a reply, I mean I know we nearly kissed, but what if he doesn't like me in that way? No, the only thing worse than being rejected, is not being with him.

"We have to walk, hope that's alright" I smiled resisting the almost unbearable urge to touch him.

"It's fine," he replied, returning my smile. He followed me down the road way from school. I felt my adrenaline start to build up inside, as I casual took his hand in mine. However, I suddenly dropped it as I felt his shudder under my touch. I felt tears picking at my eyes, trying to escape.

"I'm so sorry, Gerard" I apologised miserably; I had made a terrible mistake. "I didn't know what I was thinking, I'm so stupid, please forgive me," I babbled continuously.

"Silly Frankie," Gee cooed, pressing his finger to my lips and pushing me up against the brick wall of an ally near my house. I could feel his warm breath on my face making me feel dizzy. That's when I felt his warm lips press against my forehead. I watched him silently, unable to breath. As he checked my expression to see if I want to carry on, I just able managed to nod my head. That's when it happened; I felt his lips gently press upon mine, sending me into euphoria. It ended far too quickly in my opinion and we shared a dazed smile.

"Fucking hell Gee," I breathed. Gee's smile widened and we walked back to my house hand in hand.

* * *

**Gerard**

What followed the events of that day was a week's worth of secret meetings involving chatting and making out. We grew closer and closer but there was always one problem: Lily. The fact that I was helping Frank to cheat on her made me feel guilty, and then there was the problem that Frank had to see Lily sometimes, and It was heart breaking to see them holding hands together at school. One day after school when we were sat in my room, me drawing and Frank tracing circles on my back, I brought up the topic.

"You need to tell Lily, Frankie." His hand dropped away from my back instantly and I sat up on my bed to face him. "It makes me feel like shit to think that I have to share you. It's not fair on me, or Lily."

"I know, Gee. I've been thinking of how I could tell her but I don't want to hurt her… she's like my sister and I can't do that to her. But equally, it fucking kills me to see you hurting."

"I just don't want it to be like this, Frankie. I don't want this to be secret. I want people to know that I'm with you. I want people to know that I love you and you love me." I could fell tears building up in my eyes so I looked away.

"Oh Gee please don't cry. Please." Frank raised his hand to my face and cupped my cheek; I leaned into his touch, allowing a few tears to escape. "I'll talk to her tonight okay? I'll go see her now and I'll talk to you at school tomorrow. Is that ok baby?" I nodded, knowing that if I spoke then my voice was waver – it's embarrassing. "Do I get a goodbye kiss?" He asked. I smiled.

"Of course, but after this one, no more until you sort things out between you and Lily, ok?"

"Ok sweetie. Tonight." He leaned in to kiss me and I melted into him, tears still flowing from my eyes and giving our kiss a salty twang.

.

I waited in the doorway and waved shyly to him as he left my house

* * *

**Frank**

I couldn't keep hurting Gee and betraying Lily, so taking a deep breath I knocked on her door.. When she opened it she ran up to me, her skirt barely visible underneath her jacket.

"Frankie, baby," she cooed. '_Only gee can call me baby now'_ I immediately thought.

"Hey, gorgeous." I smiled falsely. She grinned back at me, wrapping her leg around mine in a ridiculous attempt to be seductive. I let her do what she pleased as normal, until I suddenly thought of Gee and guiltily told her I had to go to the bathroom.

.

Lily and I met in our usual sex spot - her bedroom. She came up to me and started kissing me passionately, as usual and I automatically responded.

"Lily, stop." I order abruptly; she looked hurt. "Baby, I need to talk to you," I cooed softly, allowing her expression to soften with my words. I lifted her up on to her desk carefully, jumped up beside and hugged her close.

"Lily, you know how much I love and care for you, right?" I questioned anxiously.

"Of course, Frankie baby. I love you too." She smiled sickeningly.

"And that I'd accept you no matter who you were or how you acted?" I quizzed steadily. She nodded once more. "Well I hope you can do the same for me, honey. I love you so, so much as a friend." I could see her smile faltering.

"What do you mean, Frank," she said, all the softness vanishing from her voice.

"I'm so sorry, but... I don't know how to tell you this… ok… well you see... I-I don't like girls."

"WHAT?" She shrieked in shock. Then suddenly out of now where she hit me with a mind blowing slap in the face.

* * *

**Lily**

I tried to absorb what was happening: the pain in my hand, the shocked look on Franks face… the heartbreak. Then I my mind suddenly snapped back into focus and I jumped off the desk, glaring at Frank the entire time.

"What do you _mean_ you don't like girls? Is this a _joke?_" I laughed when he shook his head. "Is this to do with that gay little shit Gerard?"

"Do NOT say one fucking word against Gerard!" He yelled, also jumping down from my desk. I stepped back in shock – Frank had never yelled at me in his life.

"Oh… Oh I see. You love him? Is that the reason you haven't been able to spend time with me lately? I understand now. You're nothing but a fucking useless gay fuck, aren't you?"

"Lily, please. I don't want it to be like this. You're like my little sister," the soft tone had returned to his voice. "I can't lose you… I just want to be with Gerard without hurting either of you.

"Get out of my house." I whispered, not looking up at him as he left my room. It was humiliating to find out that you had been played while your boyfriend was off fucking some- some _guy._ My reputation was sure to be ruined.

.

I ran down the steps and opened the front door as quickly as possible.

"FRANK!" I shouted, he was half way down the street but he turned and looked at me. I ran to him. "Please don't tell anyone. I don't care if you tell them you broke up with me but PLEASE don't say that it was a guy. Do you know how fucking humiliating that will be?"

"I don't know, Lily. It depends on what Gee wants to do." I winced at his nickname. "He says he wants us to be out, but I'll talk to him and try to get him to understand. I'll see you tomorrow in art, ok?"

"Don't sit with me. Sit with your fucking boyfriend," I spat before turning on my heels and walking off.

"That's right," I heard him whisper to himself. "He _is_ my boyfriend."


	7. Chapter 7

**Gerard**

I pushed all of my books into my locker and sighed heavily. I hadn't seen Frank yet and I was worried that Lily had killed him, or worse – he might have changed his mind and chose her over me. I shut my locker door glumly and nearly squealed when Franks face appeared from behind it, smiling a most fetching smile.

"Hey," he said softly.

"Hey… So, how did it go? With Lily, I mean," I asked, ignoring my racing heart beat sweaty hands and shaky voice.

"It wasn't pretty. I ended up getting slapped, but I can tell you all that later. That bitch can hit pretty fucking hard though! On the plus side, I can now proudly call you my boyfriend!" I barely let him finish his sentence before throwing my arms around his neck, nearly knocking him to the floor. I pulled back a little and stared into his eyes before leaning back in and brushing my lips against his. Frank opened his mouth a little and I deepened the kiss, getting so lost in the moment that I didn't notice Lily approaching until I was abruptly broken away from Frank. I slammed against the locker – the action grew less and less effective each time it occurred.

"How DARE you!" she screeched, dealing me a blow to my face.

"Don't you **dare** hit Gerard, Lily," Frank snarled, placing his hand on my arm protectively. All the people in the corridor were now staring at us.

"Lily, shhh – people are staring," I whispered turning into Frank's shoulder and attempting feebly to hide from the crowds in the corridor.

"Shut up you stupid, gay fuck. I don't give a shit!" Lily was gesticulating violently. Frank stared yelling back at Lily, but I couldn't hear it over the ringing in my ears; I began to sway from side to side.

"Frank," I groaned uneasily, trying to warn him about what was going to happen, but it was too late – I threw up all over Lily… all over her new dress.

.

Frank began laughing hysterically beside me whilst Lily stood as still as a statue for about 10 seconds, the entire corridor staring and trying not to break into laughter. Suddenly, she ran off with cheeks as red as my hair. She was followed by a few others who I identified as the friends that actually liked her.

"You ok, Gee?" Frank asked, smirking and putting his arm around my shoulder, rubbing the top of my arm soothingly. Silvery tears began to form in my eyes.

"I want to go home," I whined, gripping the front of his t-shirt and tipping my head back to avoid the tears from escaping my eyes.

"Ok, sugar; I'll take you to the nurse."

"Thanks, Frankie," I mumbled, pressing into his side and ignoring the eyes that were still on us. "You're my hero." Frank made a soft giggling noise and led me through the emptying corridors.

* * *

**Frank**

I dragged my Gee along to the nurse, refusing to leave his side until his mother came. She smiled and chatted to me when she arrived in between cooing over Gerard and talking to the nurse, who suggested he should go home. I had often felt jealous of Gee in many ways, his artistic talent and his beautiful voice to begin with, but being jealous of his relationship with his Mum was probably the worst; she was so loving and kind and I would have given anything for that... no… I had Gee now, and he was all I needed. I waved good bye, promising the nurse I would return to class – lies! I ran straight past chemistry, out through the broken gate and headed towards the park – to the tree.

.

I saw a familiar, figure beside the tree, so thin, pale and delicate - it was Liz. She was holding a big, black umbrella above her head to shield her from the rain, but the soft tears silently rolling down her cheeks mirrored the rain drops that landed beside me, dampening the day. I slid down beside her, on to the flat, wet grass and snuggled up under the safety of her umbrella. Her skin was almost luminous against the dull grey of the day, except for the deep, red lacerations on her wrists; I shuddered and tried not to get too upset.

"What's wrong?" I asked softly, concern in my voice as I looked at her sparkling eyes.

"Nothing I should be crying about," she answered looking away from me and wiping at her eyes, self-loathing prominent in her voice.

* * *

**Liz**

"What do you mean?" Frank asked looking puzzled. "You're a brave girl, honey. I know that you wouldn't cry over something silly. So tell me, what's on your mind?"

"Thanks, but I'm not, otherwise I wouldn't be crying over something as insignificant as this," I whined like a child. I sighed deeply. "It's just that I'm starting to like this girl, only she's probably not even aware of my existence… and I have no chance anyway considering she's straight." I dropped my head in to my hands, frustrated by my own stupidity.

"Are you sure she is, sweetie?" Frank inquired, wrapping his arm around my shoulders.

"Pretty, sure – they always are straight. It fucking sucks," I answered glumly. "I think she's in the year below us too, so that's even worse." Frank just hugged me tighter and tapped me on the nose, playfully.

"I can't imagine any girl not being fatally attracted to you," Frank giggled. "So… What does she look, like then?"

.

I smiled as we dived in to quite possibly the most girly conversation that I had engaged in with a guy. I described the way her sleek, jet black hair fell like curtains upon her shoulders, shielding her deep blue - almost violet – eyes from the world. I explained how sometimes I caught a glimpse of her looking up through her fringe and people, her soft lips up turning up into a magnificent smile that was brighter and more dazzling than the sun. We talked about the mysterious girl for ages, my heart warming as Frank began making up multiple scenarios in which I would always save her from a fate worse than death, causing her to fall madly in love with me. The time flew and I barely noticed it pass me by as I giggled with Frank under our tree. Frank just kind of knew how to make me feel better.

.

"SHIT," Frank cried out suddenly. Startled by his outburst, I dropped the umbrella, causing us to be momentarily covered in tiny droplets of water. I looked at the illuminated screen of the phone that he had just pulled out of his jeans pocket - the time was 3:20. Crap - school had finished 15 minutes ago, not that it affected me. 'Oh well,' I thought. It wasn't like my mum would have cared, the fucking bitch – she probably wouldn't even be home. "I'm really sorry, Liz," he continued, standing up and brushing himself down. "But I have to go. Gee was ill earlier and now I have to go see if he's okay. Are you going to be okay getting home?"

"Sure," I said, a genuine smile playing across my lips, which I saw mirrored upon Frank's face. "Is Gerard okay?" I asked.

"I think so – he threw up all over Lily! It was fucking hilarious!" I laughed loudly along with Frank. "I think that's the first time I've heard you laugh, Liz." I blushed and looked away. I said a quick good bye to Frank and watched as he rushed off, cursing under his breath. I stood up slowly and picked up my dripping wet bag, my smile fading as I trudged through the mud towards my unwelcoming home. Hopefully everybody would be out as I had to dress the wounds I had inflicted on my wrists.

"_It's not like they'd care_," a voice in my head said cruelly.

"Oh do shut up," I mumbled under my breath, twisting the umbrella above my head and humming to myself, all the time thinking of the mysterious girl in the corridor.


	8. Chapter 8

**Gerard**

My mum drove me home from school and sent me straight to bed, only leaving me alone briefly to allow me to get changed into my pyjamas.

"Mum, I'm fine now, okay? You should go back to work," I croaked, snuggling down beneath my warm bed sheets. My mum sat on the edge of my bed, stroking my hair; I relaxed and became unbelievably tired in a matter or second.

"No chance, sweetie. I'm going back downstairs, so just shout for me if you need anything. Shall I make you some soup?" I nodded weakly and reached for my sketch book, intent on drawing another picture of my Frankie. I wanted to give him a present, considering he liked my picture in art so much. I knew I could do better.

.

My mum brought me some soup about half an hour later, and after drinking it I fell sound asleep, discarding my sketchbook on the floor. I was awoken about 5 hours later by a knock on my door. I didn't even open my eyes to greet whoever it was, I just shouted to them.

"Go away, mum. 'M sleeping," I groaned, putting my pillow over my head. My head was pounding and I felt sick again. I heard my door open and someone walk in. I sighed in exasperation. "Mum! I don't want any more soup! I feel to sick."

"Pfft! Not even if your boyfriend brought it up to you?" I sat up straight and saw Frank standing at the foot of my bed, red in the face and clasping a cup of soup in his hands.

"Frankie! Come and sit down," I said, patting the bed next to me and smiling from ear to ear. "Why are you so red? You look like my hair."

"I had to run from school… and your mum only agreed to let me in if I could get you to have some more soup. I had to bargain with her, dude and she wasn't won over by my charming looks either." I giggled.

"She's such an idiot. I don't want any more fucking soup – I've drank so much I feel even more sick," I grumbled, lying back down; Frankie pulled the covers back and slid in next to me, putting the steaming cup of soup on my bed side table. He tucked us both in and held my hand.

.

"I missed you today, sweetie," Frank said, drawing patterns on my hand with his finger. I burrowed into his side and hummed approvingly; he put his arm around me to draw me in closer to his chest. I sighed deeply and relaxed into him, breathing in the scent of his old Misfits T-shirt. He smelt like home. "I'm sorry I'm late, baby… I ran all the way. I was with Liz and we lost track of time."

"Who's Liz?" I asked, looking into his eyes, an expression of confusion appearing on my face.

"Oh! I haven't spoken about Liz before, have I?" I shook my head, causing my fringe to fall into my eyes. Frank laughed, and brushed it out of my face. "Oh, well she's this cute girl in Mikey's year and she's really not… not quite average, I suppose. I met her on that day where you had the run-in with Lily in art. When I walked out, I went to the tree out the back of the sports field to cool down, and she was already there crying her eyes out, bless her! She has a lot of family problems and she self-harms and stuff. She's incredibly sweet though. I try to keep her safe and offer her advice. We talk a lot and help each other with problems. Maybe you could meet her one day."

"Maybe you could talk to your boyfriend about your problems instead of some random girl you've only known two minutes," I mumbled, pouting a little and frowning, jealousy bubbling in my veins.

"Oh come on, Gee! She's the one that I told about liking you in the first place! I'd have probably ended up not admitting it to myself and being in a miserable relationship with Lily for the rest of my life if hadn't met her. Don't be mad at me or anything. You'd like her… I'll see if you'd up to meeting you. And don't worry – she's a lesbian anyway. Not that I'd want anyone but you… I mean-"

"Are you happy at the moment?" I asked, cutting him off. My heart was pounding in my chest.

"I'm perfectly happy… The happiest person alive in fact. I mean, I'm in a bed with you… how much happier could I get," Frank replied, kissing my on the forehead – I relaxed again, the smile returning to my face..

.

Frank rolled onto his side and shifted so that he was looking straight into my eyes. I leaned forward and kissed him, softly and slowly. Our pace rapidly increased as neither of us felt hesitant any longer. We rolled over so that Frank was on top of me, straddling my waist and cupping my face in his hand. Frank began to rock, slowly and barely noticeable – but I noticed. I groaned into his mouth, which he evidently took as an invitation to grind down harder on me. The hand that was not caressing my cheekbones made its way to my stomach, just above the waist band of my pyjama bottoms. Frank began rubbing circles on my stomach. I groaned again, louder and longer this time.

* * *

**Frank**

I felt my member grow hard, as an electric current flowed through Gee and me… connecting us. Moaning, Gee rolled over so that he was on top and grabbed my wrists, fighting for dominance. I realised that he had me trapped - he was strong but I was too clever for him. I pretended to give in, relaxing my body and I stared straight in to his eyes. Then, when he loosened his grip on my wrists, I pushed him over on to his back and crawled off him. He furrowed his brow and opened his mouth to speak; I shushed him.  
"Sorry, Gee," I whispered softy. "But you're sick." With that, I slowly pulled myself away from him and tucked him up whilst stroking his hair comfortingly; I kissed him on the forehead and promptly stood up to leave. "I'll see you tomorrow okay, baby? Just get some sleep and get better already… I can't take another day on my own."

.

I picked up my bag and trudged down the stairs, only stopping to say goodbye to Mrs. Way and assure her that Gerard had drank the soup I took up to him as I was leaving.


	9. Chapter 9

**Liz**

I braced myself, before entering the harsh, grey prison they expected us to call a school. I'd arrived early as usual, but the school was still over crowded - the corridors were flooded with students. So, I hurried to my quiet spot, behind the music block. As I was about to turn the corner, I heard a tearing yell of anger.

"What the FUCK! Do you think you are doing?" screamed an all too familiar voice, aggressively. It was Lily.

"I'm s-s-sorry," stammered the meek voice of a girl that I didn't recognise. "It was an accident" she added quietly.

"AN ACCIDENT!" screamed Lily. "Do like I look like I give a **shit** whether you meant to or not? You're just a pathetic SLAG!" That's when I heard a small, muffled bang and a scream, so I rushed round the corner to see what was going on. I saw a girl pinned against the wall by lily. She was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen; she had chic black hair, flowing down her face curtaining it slightly… giving her a mysterious edge. She also had big, blue, almost purple eyes, with long thick lashes and softy cherry coloured lips that contrasted greatly with her pale skin. It was the girl that I was crushing on… and she was absolutely stunning. She seemed so nice too, so she completely didn't deserve this.

"BACK, the fuck off, LILY!" I yelled defensively in the sharpest tone I could manage.

"And what're you gonna do about it, you sad little lesbian?" she sneered slamming me in to the wall, leaving the purple eyed girl to lily's 'friends' – I noticed that the group was slightly smaller than normal. I gave the girl a worried glance as the posse grabbed hold of her, trapping her; Lily picked up on this.

"Well, well," she cackled nastily. "Now I see why you stood up for this bitch… but just 'cause you fancy her doesn't mean you can back-chat me. GOT IT, You worthless piece of shit?" She half growled threateningly, slapping me in my red-as-a-tomato embarrassed face.

"Look," I whispered. " If you don't leave me and her alone, I'll tell Frank and then you'll have no chance of getting him back – and I know that's what you want. I can see it in your eyes." I spat in to her ear.

"Fine!" she whispered back sharply, before giving me a head spinning punch in the face , causing a scarlet fountain to stream out of my nose and she stomped off.

"Are you ok?" asked the dark haired girl, stunned.

"Yeah, thanks. I think I'll live," I replied pinching my nose. "My name's Liz by the way." I smiled bravely.

"Violet," she replied, blushing slightly. "I can't believe you got her to leave us alone, thank you so much."

"Oh, that's alright. She's just a bully and bullies are cowards," I said 'knowingly. "Do you want me to walk you to class?" I offered, wanting to ask her to skip, but knowing that could get her in to a lot of trouble or mess up her education if she realised how easy it was to bunk.

"No that's ok," she said. "I hope I'll see you again, Liz." She smiled shyly.

"Yeah, me too," I replied smiling back warmly.

* * *

**Gerard**

"Frankie, I'm better now. Why can't we do anything?" I whined, lying across my bed with my head hanging over the edge; all of the blood was rushing to my head and my hair was sticking up everywhere. Frank was sat at my desk completing some work.

"Because, Gee, my geography teacher has noticed that I've been absent from his lesson a lot, and he doesn't care as long as I keep up on my work. I have to keep skipping to see Liz so I need to get this work done."

"Liz who?" Mikey interjected, popping his head around the door.

"Liz in the year below me, Mikey. The year above you," Frank replied, sounding exasperated.

"Oh, this girl in my year that I sit with in Biology wouldn't stop going on about her! She kept calling her a 'saviour' and kept saying how pretty she is. It's quite creepy, actually." I sighed from my bed, I was losing my boyfriend to a girl – how wrong could be life be.

"Shush, Gee," Frank said impatiently. "What does this girl look like?"

"Her name's Violet and she's got _super _long black hair and these really cool eyes – they're nearly purple! Oh, and she's really quite weird. She's a loner, but I try my best to get her to make friends… she just doesn't follow my advice."

"Nobody does, Mikey," I said, earning my a death glare from my brother.

"Do you have a picture of her?" Frank asked, swivelling his chair so he was facing Mikey. Mikey nodded and pulled his phone out of his pocket.

"_Seriously?_ You're never asked for a picture of me." I sat up and began sulking.

"Gerard, if you don't shut up I will do nothing with you ever again. Just hold on two minutes. Can you send the picture to me, Mikey?" Frank asked, fumbling around in his hoody for his phone.

"Sure," Mikey replied. After a few seconds of silence, Frank's phone beeped. He thanked Mikey and after a glare from me that said "get the fuck out of my room I want my boyfriend" Mikey left the room.

"I've finished my work, Gee," Frank said, getting up and coming to sit on my lap. "So… shall we go a bit further? I'm ready now." I was speechless, so I just nodded weakly. Frank's lips were suddenly attached to mine and he was kissing me softly but deeply. My hands were resting on his waist and his were in my hair, messing it up even more. He began to tug at the edge of my t-shirt impatiently and I took it off, complying with his will – he ran his hands over my bare chest and let out a small groan – I smiled. I motioned for him to take his shirt off too and he did, quickly and deftly with one fast movement. Gently, he laid me back on the bed so that he was on top of me… straddling me. I stopped marvelling at his pale skin to notice that Frank had been rocking slightly, the friction causing an uncomfortable tightness in my jeans. As if he had read my mind, his hands made their way to the button my jeans in a flash, undoing them and wriggling them down to my ankles, with my underwear attached, where I kicked them off – the relief was extraordinary. Frank was rocking up against me again, and I was no longer just hard – I had a full erection already and Frank had started setting to work on it. The movement of his hand on my throbbing dick was almost too much for me to cope with. It was as if he knew exactly how to treat me to give me as much pleasure as possible. Frank had begun kissing me again while his wrist kept moving fluently, collecting the drops of pre-cum that trailed down my cock. Frank's mouth moved from my mouth to my neck, just below my ear.

"Do you like that, baby?" he breathed – he was perfect. The way that I could feel the heat radiating for his chest, his rough voice and his mouth on my neck was enough to send me over the edge. I groaned loudly, Frank's name coming from my mouth in one elongated syllable – I came harder than I had ever done before.

Frank lay down beside me, wiping his hand on my stomach.

"Gross," I mumbled, burrowing into his side. "That was nice."

"I know," he replied, his mouth stretching into a huge grin. "Your face is so beautiful when you cum, Gee." I blushed, flicking my hair into my face to hide behind.

"It's not… it's embarrassing," I replied, smiling into the crook of his neck.

"It's getting late though, Gee… and if I don't go home soon my mum will kill me. Then I can't come see you! So I need to go, sweetie," Frank said, standing up and wiping his hands again on his jeans – double gross.

"Ok, baby. Do I get a goodbye kiss?"

"Of course," Frank said, leaning in and kissing my gently. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my body against his, savouring every touch before he left. I was so happy that I had someone like Frank.


	10. Chapter 10

**Gerard**

I couldn't concentrate on anything that my teachers said that next morning – my mind just kept flicking back to how good it had felt to be that close to Frank. Our relationship was growing stronger and stronger every time we saw each other. Of course, we argued, but it was mainly over silly little things and we would make up after about an hour. My maths lesson was boring as fuck and the teacher didn't seem to care that no one was listening. I began doodling in my notebook, just silly little cartoons of me and Frank kissing, holding hands and watching a sunset. Finally, the bell rang and I practically ran out of the classroom to meet Frank by my locker.

.

"Liz isn't here today," Frank said the minute he reached me.

"Hello there, boyfriend. I'm fine, thanks for asking. How are you?" I said in a sarcastic voice, scowling at him – he just rolled his eyes at me.

"I'm worried, Gee. Liz is normally here even though she obviously doesn't want to, because she's clever and she knows she can do something with her grades. Maybe something bad happened with her family or something… I don't know… maybe I should go see her."

"I'll come with you!" I volunteered, a little over enthusiastically. "I need to meet this girl. We could go now, if you wanted. I've only got biology and maths this afternoon… and I don't really give a shit about them to be honest. What do you think?"

"I think you're wasting your education, but if I don't go now there'll be no point in being in my next lessons as I'll just be worrying constantly. Let me grab my stuff out my locker and we'll go," Frank said. I could see the worry on his face and realised that this girl wasn't just a friend – she meant a lot to Frank and I would try and help as much as I could.

.

We arrived at a rundown looking house with an overgrown garden and a broken window. It looked uninhabited, but Frank was adamant that this was the correct address. The bin outside was overflowing with bottles of alcohol and take away food boxes; it was a most unattractive sight. We walked up what we assumed to be pathway, but it was covered with many different types of weeds. I clutched at Frank's hand as he knocked on the door – the paint was peeling off it in strips and the letterbox flap was no longer attached, instead it lay on the floor next to the house.

About a minute later the door creaked open and a skinny boy that looked a bit younger than Mikey appeared, squinting at us in the sunlight.

"What," he spat coldly, taking a sip from his can of lager – I gripped Frank's hand so tightly that I could feel the groves that my nails were making in his skin.

"Umm, hi," Frank opened, looking the guy square in the face. "I'm Frank… Liz's friend. Is she in?" Before the boy had time to answer a girl's voice sounded from one of the rooms.

"Conner, who's at the door? Mum's not in… oh. Hey Frank," she said quietly when she saw us in the doorway. "I've got it, Conner." The boy slurred something incoherent and walked back into the house.

"Yeah… we're not staying here. Let me grab my hoodie and we can go for a walk." She disappeared from out view again. Frank looked at me and I grimaced – Frank just looked happy that Liz was okay. I released my vice-like grip on his hand as Liz came back and turned to walk back down the path with Frank and Liz close behind me.

.

We stopped walking when we reached a park about five minutes away from Liz's house. It was just as foreboding as the rest of the neighbourhood – it contained rusty climbing frame and a few broken benches dotted around. It wasn't particularly nice. It was sunny, so we found a tree and set up camp underneath it, sitting in a circle so we could all see each other.

"I was worried," Frank said, breaking the tense silence.

"I'm sorry," Liz mumbled in response. "I didn't mean to not come. I just blacked out and when I woke up school had already started and there was no point in coming in."

"Did your brother not help you after you blacked out? Or your mum?" I asked in shock. Liz laughed nervously.

"I take it Frank hasn't told you much about me." I shook my head. "Well let's just say that my brother was probably too pissed to do anything about it and we haven't seen my mum for a few days now."

"Why did you black out?" Frank asked. Liz just hung her head and refused to answer. "Liz, please. If you tell me, I'll tell you the good news. You'll want to know… seriously." Frank grinned and Liz looked up at him.

"I stopped eating," she whispered, breaking eye contact with him. I just sat in a stunned silence, trying to take in everything that was happening.

"Liz, please don't do things like that! You're absolutely beautiful, and you need to remember that before you go scaring me again! Anyway – about that girl that you like… describe her to me."

"Oh… She has the most beautiful black hair in the world – seriously. I am so jealous of it! And her eyes," she sighed. "They're magical! They're pretty much purple and so _big _and cute." Frank pulled his phone out of his pocket and I smiled, knowing what he was doing.

"Is this the girl?" he asked, showing her the picture that Mikey had sent to Frank's phone. Liz's face immediately lit up.

"Yes! How do you have a picture? What's her name?" Liz asked, leaning forward right into Frank's face and smiling so wide I thought she might explode.

"Gerard's brother sent it me. And her name's Violet," Frank answered, matching Liz's smile now. Liz rocked back to sit on her heels and repeated her name.

.

"That's such a beautiful name," she breathed finally. "Anyway, what's this good news you said you had for me?"

"Well, Gerard's brother Mikey was telling us that he sits next to Violet in Biology and apparently she just wouldn't shut up about you! So… I was thinking you should ask her to hang out or something and then see how it goes from there." Frank barely had time to brace himself before Liz practically pounced on him, knocking him onto his back and hugging him tightly, her face pressed into his chest.

"I fucking _love_ you Frank! You're amazing!" Frank giggled and I smiled at the sight, feeling quite awkward just sat on the side-lines.

"It's fine, darling. Seriously. But me and Gerard need to go now because we've skipped school to come see if you're okay and if we don't catch up on the work we're going to get fucking killed," Frank said, moving back up into a sitting position. Liz frowned but Frank just laughed, stood up and offered her his hand to pull her into a standing position too. I got up on my own accord.

.

We walked Liz back to her house where Frank kissed her on the cheek and Liz hugged him tightly again, still thanking him for the information on Violet. When Liz had shut the door we began making our way home.

"You haven't kissed me today," I grumbled, folding my arms across my chest when we arrived outside my house.

"Don't go all jealous-diva on me please, Gerard," Frank said, rolling his eyes at me. I just pouted a little more in response. Frank grabbed both my hands, intertwining our fingers. He reached up and pecked me on the lips and pulled away. I made an unhappy sound in the back of my throat and pressed my lips to his again, this time with him opening his moth. Frank let go of my hands and put his arms around my neck, deepening the kiss while I put my hands on his waist and pulled his hips in closed. Frank broke the kiss and I squeaked, saddened by the sudden loss of contact.

"Is your mum in?" Frank asked. I shook my head. "Well then let's go inside and I'll give you something that Liz will never get to experience," he said in a seductive tone, grabbing my hand and pulling me up the pathway and to my front door.

* * *

**Liz**

I said goodbye to Gerard, who seemed nice but I didn't think he liked me very much. Then I squeezed Frank tight; it's all thanks to him that I found out! I couldn't believe it – '_she liked me… she really did'_ I thought to myself. Practically bouncing off the walls, I ran into the house and gave my brother a big hug which was obviously a mistake.  
"What d'ya think you are doing, man?" He exclaimed shoving me hard, but I just grinned and bounced upstairs to my room. I buzzed with excitement. _I have to see her now!_ I thought, and with a sudden brain wave I checked the time – half an hour before the end of school, which was just enough time to have a quick shower and apply some make-up to make myself presentable. When I felt I looked almost decent, I grabbed my old hoodie and headed to the school.

.

I braced myself as I arrived at school, trying to collect my thoughts. I had no idea what I would say. Then I heard a harsh ring of the bell, giving me an automatic pang of anxiety as school life always had for me. Then, soon enough, a mass rush of people flooded out the gates. '_Shit_!' I thought. _What if I've missed her? What if she goes the other way?_ I Tried to keep my eyes peeled, but sure enough, my lack of luck proved consistent and I still hadn't seen her. I had almost decided to give up with a heavy heart, when a saw a delicate frame underneath a sweep of black curtains. It was her!

"Violet!" I called excitedly, rushing up to her.

"Liz!" she cried smiling in surprise. "You waited for me?"

"Yeah, I thought maybe you'd like to come to the park with me for a little while?" I asked shakily, nervous of her response - and just to further my nerves, she didn't say anything… just stared at me in surprise for a few minutes. Then, to my relief, she gave me a huge smile that spread from ear to ear.

"Yes! I mean, please," She breathed, still grinning.

.

So I bravely took her by the hand and we walked to the park, chatting about anything and everything on the way. I had never had such an involved, interesting conversation with anyone else except Frank. I felt as if I was really connected to her. She headed straight for the swings when we arrived at the park, just like I always did! We both agreed on how free swinging makes you feel, like you could soar high into the sky and no one could ever bring you down. I felt higher than the moon, until I reluctantly told her we should probably go home. She looked as though her heart had just sank down into her shoes, but I gave her a big hug and told her I could see her again soon; to which she beamed and practically skipped off home, and I felt better too.

.

That night I lay in bed thinking of nothing but Violet. She was so perfect in every way. I tried to think of a fault - just one tiny little thing I didn't like about her. But I couldn't. There was nothing at all. I could only think of how beautiful she looked when blue eyes sparkled when she smiled; or how her sleek, black hair shone in the sunlight; or how she laughed at all my stupid jokes or... Ok. I'd have been there all night if I tried to name everything right about her - maybe all week - no, wait...month. So I turned off the broken night light and attempted to get some sleep, vowing to go to school the next day.

* * *

**A/N** - both Amber and I have out GCSE exams coming up this month so an update may be hard to write for this story. We'll try though, in our free time when we're not revising haha. We hope you're enjoying the fic and obviously, reviews make our day. Thank you so much - Emily xoxox


	11. Chapter 11

**Gerard**

I was at breaking point. It had been another week of Frank talking about Liz and me trying not to get upset – I couldn't help but be upset now though. Frank didn't seem to care about me anymore. He didn't seem to want to please me and in the brief periods of time that Frank made time in his busy schedule for me, he didn't seem to want to be affectionate. I had dropped so many hints about sex and it was extraordinarily frustrating that Frank hadn't picked up on them yet. I was ready… and a few weeks ago Frank seemed ready too, but now I wasn't so sure. I had thought about jut coming out with it and asking him, but I didn't want to make him feel pressured into doing anything.

.

I was sitting on my bed listening to Frank drone on and on about how cute Liz and Violet were together when everything came to a head. My parents were away for the weekend and we were home alone. I was never good at controlling my feelings, but this was the worst breakdown I had ever had. It all started when I began rocking unconsciously, gripping onto the edge of my bed so tight that my knuckles went white – Frank didn't notice. Stray tears began trickling down my cheek, but Frank was still too absorbed in his monologue about his best friend. I stood up and began pacing, my anger levels rising as Frank showed no signs of ceasing talking. I snapped – I picked up a glass from my desk and threw it across the room, satisfied with the resounding crash that it made as it shattered. Frank swore.

"What the fuck are you doing?" He gasped, clutching his chest – evidently I had frightened him.

"Oh… you've finished talking," I mumbled sarcastically, looking into Frank's wild eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"All you do is talk talk talk about Liz and Violet and how _perfect_ they are and how much Liz means to you. You say she makes you feel special because you can help her with her problems. Maybe you should help your boyfriend. Maybe you should open your motherfucking eyes and see that you are fucking me up." Frank just looked at me, a blank expression on his face. "Do you think about how I feel? Do you think about how you make me feel? I feel worthless. I feel like you don't love me. I feel like you don't need me. If you love Liz so much, why don't you go fuck Liz? Because you blatantly don't want to fuck me! Do you know how _ugly_ I feel? You make me feel so unattractive because you show me no affection whatsoever. Do you care, Frank?"

.

Frank didn't reply. He sat in a stunned silence, holding eye contact with me but not showing me how he felt. Suddenly, I let out a blood-curdling scream that I wasn't even convinced was human. I dropped to my knees and began alternating between sobbing and screaming. I was aware of Frank's arm around my crumpled form and the sound of his voice trying to soothe me, but I couldn't make out any of the words.

"I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry," I screeched, putting my head on the floor and sobbing harder. My body began to shudder under Frank's arm and my breathing rate increased. I was shaking so violently that it _hurt_ and I was gasping for breath.

"Gerard, what do I do?" I heard Frank say frantically. "Gerard… answer me… do I call an ambulance? You're having a panic attack. I don't know what to do _please _tell me what to do."

"No," I choked out. "I don't need an ambulance. I'm not ill. I'll be f-."

.

I passed out and remember waking up lying on my back with Frank leaning over me, tears streaming down his face and his hands visibly shaking.

"Gerard," he squeaked, stroking my cheek. "Gerard, speak to me please. Are you okay?"

"No," I replied curtly, turning my head to the side in order to avoid Frank's gaze; Frank turned my head back to look at him.

"Thank fuck you're awake. You _terrified_ me. I genuinely didn't know any of what you said, and I'm so fucking sorry that I make you feel like that. Seeing you like that… it broke my heart, Gee. I don't know how to make it up to you. Can I make it up to you?"

"You can sleep over here tonight so I don't have to be alone," I said, sitting up and crossing my legs. "I love you," I stammered, my bottom lip quivering. I saw tears fill Frank's eyes.

"I love you too, Gee - more than anyone in this whole world." I leant forward and wrapped my arms around Frank's waist, pressing my face into his chest and breaking into a fresh fit of sobs. Frank stroked my back and made quiet 'shushing' noises in an attempt to calm me down.

.

Frank returned home briefly to get his clothes and a toothbrush and when he returned, we decided to watch a film and cuddle on the bed. I fell asleep before we had even been there for fifteen minutes. My breakdown had worn me out and I had no energy whatsoever – not even the caffeine from the coffee Frank made me replenished my energy stores. I fell asleep to the sound of Frank's steady breathing and his heart beating in his chest – it didn't sound broken after all.

.

When I awoke, Frank was nowhere to be seen. I panicked a little before realise that he had probably just gone to get dressed. I stretched and reached for my clock to check the time – 12:00pm. I entered a coughing fit induced by the shock of finding out that I had been asleep for a full fourteen hours… that was insane. Frank returned with a tray of breakfast, along with two steaming cups of coffee.

"Good morning, sleepy head," Frank practically sang; he accompanied his arrival with a huge grin.

"Mornin'," I groaned, snatching my coffee off the tray and taking a large gulp, burning my tongue in the process. Frank just giggled at me and watched me intently as I ate – it was quite unnerving.

"Why are you staring at me," I mumbled through a mouth full of toast.

"I think we should talk about what happened last night." My heart began pounding and I wasn't sure what Frank was going to say. I nodded slowly and put my cup of coffee back on the tray. "You were talking about sex. You shocked me, Gee. I hadn't mentioned sex because I didn't think that _you_ were ready! Don't ever think that I don't care about you and **never** think you're ugly… because no matter what anyone says, you'll always be beautiful to me."

.

Frank crawled across the bed to me on his hands and knees before pressing a soft kiss to me lips, but I didn't have time for this. I placed my hand on the back of his head and pulled him closer, kissing him vigorously and exploring his mouth. After a mere few seconds of kissing my hands were already roaming all over Frank's body, before resting on his crotch. I applied a reasonably large amount of pressure which caused him to groan into my mouth. I smiled, still never breaking the kiss. I tugged his shirt off, giggling when it got stuck around his head and reluctantly, I let him remove mine. It didn't matter how many times Frank told me I was beautiful I was never going to see it.

.

Before I even had time to process what Frank was doing, my jeans and boxers were down by my ankles, and so were Franks. He lay down on top of me and began rolling his hips.

"_Fuck_," I groaned, digging my nails into Frank's back – Frank responded positively.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Frank panted; his breath tickled my ear, making me smile.

"I'm sure... Have you ever done this before?" I asked. Frank sat up and shook his head. "Neither have I. Do you want to top or bottom?"

"I don't care – you choose?"

"I'll top. I don't want to hurt you," I said, pouting a little.

"I don't want to hurt you either."

.

I decided to end the argument by lying on my back and pulling Frank down on top of me. Instinctively, Frank began grinding his hips against mine; we both had raging hard-ons now and I thought that this would be a good time to make a move. I reached into my bedside table and pulled out a condom and a small bottle of lube. I opened the condom packet with care and rolled it down Frank's cock before throwing the bottle of lube at him.

"You need to prep me," I said, flushing a little red.

"Yeah… yeah, of course. Sorry. I should have offered to," Frank mumbled. The whole situation was becoming very awkward very quickly. I spread my legs and Frank coated his fingers in the lube. The first finger was reasonably comfortable, and the second finger stung a little, but the amount of lube Frank had on his fingers managed to solve the friction problem. When Frank began spreading his fingers inside me to stretch me, that's when it started to fucking hurt. I yelped before covering my mouth, not wanting Frank to change his mind. His fingers froze inside me. "Gee, are you okay?" he asked, looking at me with wide eyes.

"I'm fine," I gasped, feeling my muscles contract around his fingers.

"Do you want me to try three, or do you just want to forget the whole idea."

"Go for three," I mumbled, bracing myself for the pain.

.

I hadn't expected that amount of blinding pain… it was appalling. I scrunched up my face and tried not to show the extent of my pain too much, just in case Frank decided he didn't want to fuck anymore. I did, however, let out a small whimper which earned me a sympathetic look from Frank. Once he had stretched me a little more he withdrew his fingers slowly and my body relaxed, relishing the moment in which there was no uncomfortable sensations whatsoever.

"Are you ready?" Frank asked, shifting so that his cock was positioned right next to my entrance. I nodded, pulling his face down for one last kiss. I broke away and smiled at me before pressing the tip of his cock into me. I gasped a little but the prep has lessened the pain a hell of a lot. Frank continued slowly, watching my face intently for any sign of pain. After I had got used to the feel of him inside me, I couldn't cope any more with the slow pace that Frank was moving at. I wrapped my legs around his hips and pulled him the rest of the way in – that was a mistake. It fucking hurt like a bitch. Frank stayed still inside me for a while until I told him that I was ready, and even then he just gingerly moved a little. I rolled my eyes at him.

"Frank, just thrust properly… you're doing nothing for me," I said, cupping his face in one of my hands. Frank apologized again and I rolled my eyes at him.

.

Frank began thrusting in and out of my properly, increasing with speed each time. Eventually, he thrust in just far enough to hit my spot. I groaned so loud that I even startled myself. Frank just looked incredibly pleased with his self and continued to hit _that_ spot repetitively. I knew I wasn't going to hold on for much longer, and from the looks of Frank's face – he wasn't either. Frank lowered his head into the crook of my neck and began sucking on my collar bone, leaving what I hoped would be a wonderfully visible bruise. He stopped sucking to groan my name, elongating the syllables and breathing heavily – that was enough to send me over the edge. I came against Frank's stomach, feeling my muscles contract around his dick. Evidently that was enough to finish Frank off too. I felt him release inside of me, feeling the head of his cum and feeling his thrust slow down so much he almost stopped. He rested on my chest for a few moments before pulling out of me and rolling off his condom and throwing it into my bin. I kissed his cheek and smiled – this had been perfect.

* * *

**Frank**

I laid there for what seemed like hours - it was perfect! I wanted to be in this place forever. I looked up and planted a kiss on Gee's lips, lost in pure bliss as my lips connected with his. Regretfully, I pulled away.

"I love you, Gerard Arthur Way," I breathed meaning every word of it. Gee beamed.

"I love you too, Frankie," he whispered sweetly.

.

'_Buzz, buzz'_ repeated my phone, waking me up. I tried to reach for it but instead knocked it off my bedside table waking Gerard up.

"Ahh! What the..?" Gee cried as a my phone conjured a loud crashing noise as it hit the floor.  
"Sorry," I whispered softly. "I dropped my phone".  
It was Liz...


	12. Chapter 12

**Liz POV**

I woke up to a huge bowl of porridge and strawberries, presented to me by Violet. She smiled and climbed back into bed, carefully placing the tray down in her usual neat, gracious manner. I returned her smile and leant over, pressing my lips to hers.

"Nope," she tutted "You'll spill it!"

"Okay, okay," I laughed and began gratefully shovelling it in; I had to admit I was kind of hungry. Violet beamed at me, making me remember that her love and support were all I had needed to get better. I couldn't believe how much I had changed in a year. For starters, Lily had got what was coming to her, although I still couldn't help feeling sorry for her - even after everything she did to me, everyone still deserves a friend, right? So we sometimes sit together in lessons now. As for the rest of the bullies, they've all grown up a bit and some even smile at me occasionally -it's great! I have no need to bunk now and have actually managed to get into the sixth form. "What's the date today?" I suddenly exclaimed.

"25th I think," answered Violet. "Why?"

"It's been a year since I was hospitalised…" I murmured a little embarrassed.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

It was yet another Friday, meaning just over 5 hours until freedom. Violet had been off ill until today and the bullying had gotten worse. The school bell rang, indicating the end of period one, and as usual a chorus of sighs erupted as the teacher scolded us for trying to pack away before she had finished talking. After we had been dismissed, I hurried to my history lesson - at least we were placed in sets for humanities. '_The nerds weren't quite as mean_' I thought to myself as pushed through the busy crowds, hoping it would be ok. Suddenly I tripped and plummeted to the ground. "Argh," I cried.

"Ha ha, what a loser!" jeered Lily, her foot blatantly stuck out as if she was showing off. I took a deep breath and looked up, glaring at the girl who was now leaning over me

"Leave me alone, Lily," I responded. "What did I ever do to you?" The corridor was practically empty now and I needed to get to class.

"Ha!" Lily scoffed. "You know perfectly well what you did, you fucking dirty lesbian." She kicked me hard in the ribs; a small whimper escaped my lips.

"You made Frank gay, because you are a disgusting homo and that's what you do". This time she kicked me in the face. I shrieked in pain.

"What?! Are you crazy?!" I shouted. "You can't make someone gay!"

"Well you obviously can!" I wiped the blood away that was gushing from my nose. "You're such a shit little human being. I hear you've got some kind of eating disorder? No wonder," she snorted. "You were such a fat _thing _and now you're just an ugly bag of bones." I dropped my head and broke the eye contact, trying to force my tears back into my eyes.

.

"Awh and now you're going to cry?" she whispered in a menacing tone, kneeling down next to me. "The whole school knows exactly how pathetic you are… you and you're gang of faggots. Frank's reputation has been completely destroyed, so not even he can save you now. I hope that gives you some kind of incentive to remove the stain of your sorry existence from this planet," she mumbled before standing up and sashaying away with her pack of giggling hyenas behind her. I stood up and practically ran through the crowds of people who were jeering at me, searching for the nearest bathroom to hide in.

* * *

**Violet POV**

I heard what had happened from some of the other students in the corridor, catching snippets of what Lily had done. I headed for the bathroom, knowing that that would be where Lily would be hiding. I crashed through the door to find the room empty. Kicking each of the stall doors, I searched for Liz, but all of the doors opened except the very last one.

"Liz?" I shouted through the door. "Can you open up please?" There was an indecipherable grumble from the other side. "Liz, I'm being serious. I need you to open this door up right now."

"I don't think I can," came a weak voice. I began to panic.

"What have you done?" No reply. "Liz, what the fuck have you done?"

"I took some stuff and cut a bit but it's fine… Lily said I should… Lily said I needed to," wailed Liz. I heard a bang from the other side of the door.

"What the fuck was that?" I asked urgently.

"My head drooped a bit and it hit the wall," whispered Liz.

"I need you to open the door right now, Liz. I don't care how much effort it takes. I need to see the damage. Please…. please, for me," I stammered, tears beginning to fall quickly from my eyes.

.

Liz stopped responding. I couldn't wait any longer and luckily the lock on the toilet was easy to pick. I burst in and immediately yanked Liz's phone from her pocket to dial 911. I tried to explain Liz's condition and what she had done quickly, but I couldn't seem to get my words out properly. I had barely managed to finish explaining when I heard a loud bang as Liz fell to the floor, completely unconscious. This time I wasted no time trying to talk to her, instead I ran out in to the empty corridor, almost running straight into my maths teacher, Mr. Wickens. Hysterically I tried to explain what had happened, but the paramedic on the phone kept talking to me at the same time and I got in a muddle - my poor maths teacher didn't know how to react. In the end I just pointed to the girls' bathroom, so he went and fetched a female colleague who followed me in. At this point the ambulanced arrived and we were quickly whisked away. In the ambulance I wondered about calling Liz's family, but immediately thought better of it. I tried to think about who Liz would _really_ want me to call… who had been there for her before me? _Frank!_ I found his name in her contacts and rang, shouting something incoherent about her condition and the hospital, before the phone battery died.

.

I remembered nothing from the next half an hour or so, just a blur of sirens, medical officials and white walls. Liz was taken into the emergency room on a cart and as I was not a family member, I wasn't allowed through. The next hour felt like eternity, sat in the sterile waiting room, wondering if Frank had understood and if he would come. I couldn't bring myself to have a drink, no matter how many nurses offered me a cup of coffee or tea. They didn't seem to realise that the one person in the world who I loved was potentially dying because she couldn't see the beauty that I saw in her. It broke my heart and I began to cry, aware of the arm of a nurse around me. Eventually Frank showed up, Gerard in quick pursuit, but I couldn't speak to either of them. I couldn't be at ease until I knew how my girlfriend was doing.

.

"Is there someone in here called Violet? And someone called Frank?" a Doctor shouted, breaking me out of my trance.

"I'm Violet," I croaked, standing up and walking over to him.

"And I'm Frank," Frank said, joining me.

"Liz has been asking for you. She's in a stable state but refuses to let us call her parents. We tried to explain that only family members would be allowed to see her at this point in time but she became hysterical, so in this exceptional circumstance we will allow you to go in and see her, but only for about an hour," the doctor explained. We both nodded and followed him into a hospital room, leaving Gerard alone in the waiting room.

.

"I'm so sorry," Liz wept as I dashed up to her and grabbed her hand. "I'm so, so sorry."

"It's fine," I murmured, unable to stop the tears flowing down my cheeks. "We're here now… you're fine… everything is going to be okay from now on, I promise you." She smiled weakly at me and I smiled a shaky smile back.

"Don't you _dare_ do this to me again!" Frank scolded, grabbing her other hand. "I was so scared, Liz. You can't do this again." Liz nodded and smiled at Frank too. I understood at that moment that she had realised that people cared. People were there for her. People supported her… and I knew that from then onwards I would be there to protect her against everything forever.

.

Eventually the doctor made us leave. I pressed a fleeting kiss on Liz's lips and promised to visit her the next day, and any other day that she was still in hospital, and Frank promised the same. Frank and I entered the waiting room and saw Gerard reading a crappy magazine in the corner of the room. He shot up from his chair upon seeing us and rushed over.

"How is she?" he asked, biting his lip in a worried fashion. We explained what her condition was and what had happened in the room and Gerard seemed satisfied with the answer.

"I guess I should go let her mum know," I mused out loud. Frank gave me a sympathetic look. "She's still her daughter and hopefully this will knock some sense into her… she should look out for Liz more!"

"Well good luck," Frank said, pulling me into a hug. "I'll see you soon. I promise we'll all go out together when this is all over."

"We can double date!" I giggled, earning laughter from the two boys. I gave Gerard a quick hug as we left the building and went our opposite ways. I knew that this would be the start of a friendship… the first group of friends that I had ever had, and the first group for Liz too. I knew that after this everything would work out just fine.

* * *

**Frank POV**

I held Gerard's hand all the way home, staying silent for pretty much the whole journey. My parents were visiting relatives in Maryland so Gerard and I waltzed straight in, completely at ease in my home. I made two cups of hot coffee and sat on the sofa with Gerard, snuggling into his side with my feet up on the cushions.

"I'm so sorry about everything that has happened recently, Gerard. It's just that I was _so_ worried about Liz and I didn't want to leave her, but at the same time I obviously didn't want to leave you… I didn't know what to do and-" I gushed before Gerard interrupted me, putting his arm around me comfortingly.

"Frank," Gerard sighed, rubbing my arm and raising his eyebrows slightly. "It's okay! Well… no, it's not okay really. I mean, I'm the one who should be apologizing and I really am sorry - I had no idea that Liz was in such a bad state. No wonder you were so concerned." He squeezed me tighter. "You should have told me and then maybe I could have helped. I do feel partly to blame and… and I am very sorry," he grimaced.

"Oh shush," I said, head butting his side softly. "Of course it wasn't your fault, silly," I scolded, an amused expression spreading across my face before I leaned in and kissed him. He set his cup of coffee down on the cupboard next to him and took my face in his hands.

"I love you, Frank Anthony Iero," he said, looking straight into my eyes.

"I love you too, Gerard Arthur Way," I replied sincerely. "Right!" I squeaked excitedly, standing up. "Popcorn time!" I squeaked excitedly and ran to the kitchen.

.

As I came back into the living room armed with a humongous bowl of microwave popcorn, galaxy chocolate and soda, I noticed that Gerard had made a nest of blankets and put on my favorite film - 'The Nightmare Before Christmas'. An amazingly wide grin spread across my face and I pecked him on the lips before turning around and setting out the snacks on the coffee table in front of us. Just as I was about to sit down and join Gee, I heard the familiar tune of my mobile - it was Violet.

"Is everything okay?" I said into the receiver as soon as I had answered the phone, panic leaking into my voice.

"Yes, I was just ringing to tell you, Liz has been given the all clear in terms of her physical health and she is just waiting for a mental health assessment. Everything is going to be okay," she reassured me.

"That's brilliant!" I exclaimed, flashing another smile at Gerard, who was looking at me with a confused expression. "Give her my love."

"Don't worry, I will. I'll see you later."

"Bye," I said quickly before putting the phone back down.

.

I sat down next to Gerard, snuggling into his side once more. He looked down at me, obviously wanting to know what the phone call had been about.

"I think Liz is going to be okay," I smiled

"That's fantastic!" Gerard beamed, and with that we settled down to watch the film. It didn't take long before he had drifted into a deep sleep by my side, and I couldn't help but stare at him. He looked so peaceful, like he was in his own little world. I put my hand on his chest and felt instantly calmed by his rhythmic breathing. Finally, I relaxed - something I hadn't been able to do for a long time - and thought about all the things I could do with my new found friends. We could go on double dates, bowling, have sleepovers… and I knew that for once I could truly be myself. I couldn't have been happier as I drifted off to sleep that night, Gerard snoring softly by my side and the promise of a brand new future awaiting me in the morning.


End file.
